Three co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX—Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed—were pardoned by President Trump on Friday, according to a report from CNBC.
All three founders pled guilty in 2022 to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act for failing to operate an anti-money laundering program at the cryptocurrency exchange. Each founder also agreed to pay a $10 million fine to settle the charges.
“Thank you,” Hayes posted on X Friday afternoon, tagging the official President of the United States account.
Decrypt could not immediately reach BitMEX’s founders, and BitMEX did not immediately respond to questions.
Most recently, in January, Manhattan federal judge Judge John G. Koeltl ordered the exchange to pay $100 million to settle violations that took place between 2015 and 2020. The exchange said it was happy with the outcome.
Regulators alleged initially that BitMEX had allowed U.S. clients to use its exchange without verifying their identities.
In 2021, BitMEX paid $100 million in civil penalties after the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, alleged that the exchange’s senior leadership “altered U.S. customer information to hide the customer’s true location.”
President Trump campaigned with a pro-business agenda, and spoke frequently about the tech and crypto spheres—even once attending a Bitcoin conference.
A number of top crypto companies have had charges against them or investigations dropped since the new commander in chief took office, and crypto-friendly regulators have taken positions in the Trump Administration and at financial watchdogs.
Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication with additional details.
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